Time for new carpet in my Lund 1440...a bunch of questions

[Jeff Hahn]

The carpet in my Lund 1440 is 20 years old and worn in several places. Time for new carpet. This is a pic of the floor. It's held in place with pop rivets. When I reinstall after new carpet, would you use new pop rivets or some other type of fastener, like metal screws? I have a hand help pop rivet gun, but it's not nearly powerful enough for pop rivets this large, so I'd have to buy an air powered one at Harbor Freight.

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It was a royal PITA to get the floor out, but I got it. I knew that a small section along the one edge was soft. Here's a pic. The soft section is about 3" - 4" wide and maybe 4 feet long. I'd rather not replace the whole floor board, as there are so many small holes for the pop rivets that would be next to impossible to drill in the correct place in a new board. Can I just cut a 3"-4" by 4 foot section of soft wood out and replace it?

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Finally, the edge of the carpet is held in place on the compartment lids by a pinching it between the edge of the lid and a strip of metal. The fasteners that the factory used are solid rivets, not pop rivets. These will be a PITA to drill out. What can be used to replace them...a small screw and nut? A big pop rivet? As you can see, the head must be really thin so that the lid will close correctly.

IMG_1355.JPG Carpet pinched between compartment lid and metal strip

IMG_1353.JPG Solid rivet head

IMG_1356a.JPG Butt end of the solid rivet

One more question. If you look at the top pic of the floor again...in the upper right corner you can see a small section of the edge of the rod locker where the carpet is badly worn. That worn area is about a foot long and was the first area of carpet to show any wear...people drag their foot here when getting in and out of the boat. Is there some kind of edging I can put on the edge of the rod locker in that section to prevent this problem?

Two more bits of info.

I am having an outstanding local canvas shop do the carpet. I will be taking the various sections of the deck, bow, floor, compartment lids, etc. to them to recarpet. They will likely have a recommendation on how to deal with the solid rivets, but I wanted you guys expert opinion, as well. Finally, I have a buddy that's a salesman for Fastenal, so he can probably get me any type of fastener that I'll need.

Thanks so very much for any help you can offer!

[5 BASS ASSASIN]

In my opinion the damaged wood can be patched. I would underlap a bracing strip at the repair joint. Adhere it to the endesise of the existing piece and the new filler piece as well.. use a counter sink bit and recess screwed.. seal screws with resin or 4200 . As far as the rivers in the floor I don’t see the necessity. A properly adhered carpet shouldn’t need rivets to rely on for longevity,although it is common for fasteners to be use in corners and areas that are more inconspicuous. I would personally fill the deck holes with dowels soaked in resin .. ( drill to size) or fill with 4200. As for all the wood it’s .I would recommend a good coat of resin...2would be better, prior to carpet installation..quick and easy while it’s apart, and you’ll not have to worry about rot for a very long time. Adhesion will be better as well. Seal all edges of repair piece and cutouts as well. As for the edging there are lots of different options.. some go down first and carpet tucks inside..some overlap, there are both vinyl/rubber type product and aluminum as well. The color choices are somewhat limited .as for the rivits, I would opt to go back with rivits again. Rough water will eventually probably work a nut free. . Self locking, or a star washer would be best, but rivet stays unless it breaks... as for the solid ones. Take an awl and push firmly firmly. A small dot it all a tiny bit need to keep from walking. Pre drill with a very small bit. Then step up and ream it out. For the small hole, push the bit deep into the drill. Will give you more control, and less likely to break it. Oh , the 4200 can be used for the adhesive for the underbracing as well. I’m sure I missed something . Best of luck with it. Hope this is useful. Love to see it finished up!!

and who’s Mr. Berlin? What it take? Only been there once.. .really liked the lake!! It was VERY generous to me.

[Jeff Hahn]

I think Mike Riffle was Mr. Berlin. You can find the results on the Ohio Retirement Bass Series Facebook page.